Julio C. Reyes

• Licentiate in Biology
• Researcher at ACOREMA

Summarizes the result of the second PHVA Worksop on Humboldt Penguin in LIma, Peru, in October 2019

The morphology and maturation process of gonads of 70 Burmeister’s porpoises Phocoena spinipinnis, with body lengths ranging 135 - 183 cm (n = 34 females) and 64.5 - 182 cm (n = 36 males) are described. Samples were collected in six ports of central and northern Peru from 1987 to 1999. In the field, sexual maturity was determined through macroscopi...

Data on helminth parasites and epizoites is presented for the long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins from the Southeast Pacific. Sampling in 1985-2000 was conducted mainly at six fishing ports in Peru and Ecuador where cetaceans were landed. From a total of 473 common dolphins sampled, we identified helminths including three species of Tremat...

This is an obituary for William F. Perrin.

The morphology and maturation process of gonads of 70 Burmeister´s porpoises, with body lengths ranging 135–183 cm (n= 34 females) and 64.5-182 cm (n= 36 males) were described. Samples were collected in six ports of central and northern Peru in 1987-1999. In the field, females were classified as immature, mature (resting, lactating, pregnant) and m...

Humboldt penguin (Spheniscus humboldti) Population and Habitat Viability Assessment Workshop Final Report

Despite three decades since its discovery, information on the biology of Mesoplodon peruvianus remains scant. Adding 46% to the global specimen catalog (presently N=36) we document 10 new specimens plus one tentative case, all from Peru, augmenting knowledge about its natural history.

Relevant and distinctive vernacular species names are essential to assure efficient communication among scientists under field and laboratory conditions, but also among non-specialists including the public at large. We provide a rationale for recommended vernacular and alternative names for the lesser beaked whale Mesoplodon peruvianus Reyes, Mead...

Considering minimal direct monitoring of cetacean takes in most of South America, strandings data may serve as an useful proxy for removal levels, as the majority of beach-cast small cetaceans near fishing towns are thought to be fisheries related. A total of 942 specimens (873 identified) tallied via mostly opportunistic beachcombing efforts along...

We succinctly summarize population ID information for common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus of the Pacific coast of South America, covering four coastal range states. Phylogenetic uncertainties relate primarily to offshore vs. coastal (inshore) ecotypes and biogeographic borders between the five proposed populations (2 offshore, 3 coastal):...

We document the macroscopic phenotypic characteristics (relative size, location, pattern, colour, extension), prevalence and evolution of five types of skin disorders of unknown aetiology, including ‘green-brown plaques’ (GBP), ‘orange patches’ (OPA), ‘cutaneous nodules’ (NOD), ‘pale dermatitis’ (PAD) and ‘expansive annular lesions’ (EAL) in five o...

This chapter focuses on the Burmeister's porpoise, which are described from a specimen captured by fishermen at the mouth of La Plata River, Argentina. It belongs to the family Phocoenidae, whose members share the presence of premaxillary eminences in the skull, a reduced posterior extension of the premaxillae not reaching the nasal, and, at least...

The presence of tattoo skin disease (TSD) was examined in 1392 free-ranging and dead odontocetes comprising 17 species from the Americas, Europe, South Africa, New Zealand and Greenland. We investigated whether TSD prevalence varied with sex, age and health status. TSD was encountered in cetaceans from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as in...

Caused by a yeast-like organism known as Lacazia loboi, Lobomycosis (or lacaziosis) naturally affects humans, common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting coastal waters from southern Brazil to Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast of Florida, as well as botos-cinza (Sotalia guianensis). These species are usually found in coastal waters,...

Micro-organisms that are known or suspected to cause skin diseases in cetaceans are briefly reviewed. Viruses belonging to four families i.e. Caliciviridae, Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae and Poxviridae were detected by electron microscopy, histology and molecular techniques in vesicular skin lesions, black dots perceptible by the touch, warts and...

We report on miscellaneous skin diseases or syndromes of unknown aetiology including whitish, velvety lesions (WVL, often associated with unrelated skin injuries, scars and tooth rakes), large, rounded lesions (LRL, large to very large lesions with an orange or dark outline and a light inner colour) and vesicular skin disease (VSD, small to medium...

Caused by a yeast-like organism known as Lacazia loboi, Lobomycosis (or lacaziosis) naturally affects humans, common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting coastal waters from southern Brazil to Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast of Florida, as well as botos-cinza (Sotalia guianensis). These species are usually found in coastal waters,...

Micro-organisms that are known or suspected to cause skin diseases in cetaceans are briefly reviewed. Viruses belonging to four families i.e. Caliciviridae, Herpesviridae, Papillomaviridae and Poxviridae were detected by electron microscopy, histology and molecular techniques in vesicular skin lesions, black dots perceptible by the touch, warts and...

We report on miscellaneous skin diseases or syndromes of unknown aetiology including whitish, velvety lesions (WVL, often associated with unrelated skin injuries, scars and tooth rakes), large, rounded lesions (LRL, large to very large lesions with an orange or dark outline and a light inner colour) and vesicular skin disease (VSD, small to medium...

Caused by a yeast-like organism known as Lacazia loboi, Lobomycosis (or lacaziosis) naturally affects humans, common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) inhabiting coastal waters from southern Brazil to Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic coast of Florida, as well as botos-cinza (Sotalia guianensis). These species are usually found in coastal waters,...

The diets of long-beaked common dolphins Delphinus capensis (n=117), dusky dolphins Lagenorhynchus obscurus (n=72), Burmeister's porpoises Phocoena spinipinnis (n=69) and offshore common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus (n=22) were determined based on the analysis of the stomach contents collected from animals landed in ports along the Peruvi...

We succinctly review and document new cases of diseases of the skin and the skeletal system and external traumata in cetaceans from Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela. The survey revealed 590 cases diagnosed with a significant pathology, injury or malformation on a total of 7635 specimens of 12 odontocete spec...

Miscellaneous lesions of the head, skull, teeth, trunk, appendages, skin and genital tract were observed in 120 of 930 long-beaked common dolphins Delphinus capensis taken in fisheries off Peru between 1985 and 2000. Seven subsamples were defined according to the varying field sampling protocols. Forty-two dolphins showed at least 2 types of injuri...

We investigated the phylogeography and evolutionary history of dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) using DNA sequences of the full mitochondrial cytochrome b gene in 124 individuals from the putative stocks off Peru, Argentina and Southwest Africa. While genetic differentiation within oceans is surprisingly low, there is no evidence for recent...

A bstract Mesoplodon traversii (Gray, 1874) is shown to be a senior synonym of the recently described beaked whale Mesoplodon hahamondi Reyes et al. , 1995 on the basis of a phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. The mandible and teeth of M. traversii , first reported in 1873 by Hector as Dolichodon layardii . are rede...

A highly unusual sighting is described of a group of ca. 150 Burmeister’s porpoises near Isla Guañape Sur (08°28’04”S, 78°58’16.7”W) off the north-central Peruvian coast, in September 2001. The fishermen prepared to set a gillnet on the porpoises with the intention to catch some. This is the first observation supporting the concept that management...

Ovarian cysts and one ovarian tumour, uterine tumours, vaginal calculi, abscesses of the broad ligament or undetermined testicular lesions were observed in 25 out of 502 female and male dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) caught off Peru in 1985-1987 or 1993-1994. Tentative or definitive diagnoses included Graafian follicle cysts, luteinized c...

On 25 November 1987 two southern right whales were photographed nearshore off Ilo in southern Peru (Van Waerebeek et al., 1992). These adult whales constituted the, to date, only positive record of E. australis in Peruvian waters. Here we document a second sighting, the first known mother-calf pair for Peru, as well as the northernmost authenticate...

Se presenta una clave para identificar las especies del Pacífico Sureste (Colombia, Ecuador, Perú y Chile) en base al estudio de características craneales.

Mesoplodon bahamondi sp.n. is described from a calvaria collected at Playa Blanca, Robinson Crusoe Island (33°37'S, 78°53'W), off Chile. Cranial characters which differentiate this new species from all congeners include: 1) unique arrangement and shape of bones in the antorbital region, in particular the large size of the jugale; 2) widest known ro...

Burmeister's porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis), one of the most common small cetaceans in Peruvian waters, suffers the second highest fishing mortality. Biological data obtained from porpoises caught in gillnets off Peru from 1983 to 1989 are presented.

Information on small cetacean mortality in Peruvian fisheries is reviewed for 1990-1993 period, after the national ban on cetacean exploitation. The ban was found not to be enforced or at best only partially so. Principal species affected included Lagenorhynchus obscurus, Delphinus capensis, Phocoena spinipinnis and Tursiops truncatus. -from Author...

Van Waerebeek, K., Van Bressem, M-F., Reyes, J.C., García-Godos, A., Alfaro, J., Ontón, K., Bello, R. and Echegaray, M. (1994). Illegal Exploitation of Small Cetaceans in Peru. Final Report to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) and Ministry of Fisheries, Peru. Lima, January 1994. 76pp. Pa...

In 1988 and 1989 the authors monitored the fish terminal of Pucusana. The estimated total yearly cetacean kills (1988/1989) at this port are 2289 (SE = 130) and 2320 (SE = 117) animals, including 1725/1893 dusky dolphins Lagenorhynchus obscurus, 383/331 Burmeister's porpoises Phocoena spinipinnis, 155/57 common dolphins Delphinus delphis, 18/31 bot...

Mortality of small cetaceans in fishing nets is high in Peruvian waters. An unknown number of large and small cetaceans are taken incidentally in the gillnet swordfish fishery in Chilean waters. Some tens to a few hundred dolphins and porpoises die every year off S Chile in an expanding coastal gillnet fishery for ratfish and sciaenids. Scanty info...

ABSTRACT: In 1990, 74 dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) and 10 Burmeister's porpoises (Phocoena spinipinnis) were examined for the presence of hyperpigmented marks and pinhole lesions on the skin (tattoo lesions) at the fishing terminal of Pucusana, central Peru. Prevalences of tattoo lesions were 8.1 % and 30% in the dolphins and porpoises,...

In 1990, 74 dusky dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obscurus) and 10 Burmeister's porpoises (Phocoena spinipinnis) were examined for the presence of hyperpigmented marks and pinhole lesions on the skin (tattoo lesions) at the fishing terminal of Pucusana, central Peru. Prevalences of tattoo lesions were 8.1% and 30% in the dolphins and porpoises, respective...

The scanty information published on parasites of the dusky dolphin Lagenorhynchus obscurus is reviewed. Prevalence of helminths in relation to body length/sex of the host and intensity of infestation is analysed for 321 dusky dolphins killed in an artisanal coastal fishery off Peru. A total of 707 animals were checked externally for ectoparasites a...

The occurrence of Kogia off the Peruvian coast is reviewed. A single historical record of Kogia breviceps is known from 1919. In the period 1984-90 the authors gathered information on three additional records of this species, three (first) records of K. simus and three individuals of Kogia sp. Specimens were either caught in an artisanal gillnet fi...

The skull of a Phocoenid species previously determinated as a Burmeister's Porpoise is identified to be a Spectacled Porpoise Australophocaena dioptrica. Comparative measurements are given. This result fits to the general distribution of both species in coastal and offshore waters of the eastern Pacific.

Four new records of cetaceans for the Juan Fernández Archipelago, Chile, are presented: common dolphin (Delphinus delphis), Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris), striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) and a beaked whale (Mesoplodon sp.). The striped dolphin is recorded for the first time in Chilean waters and represents the southernmost rec...

A bstract Mesoplodon peruvianus , a new species of beaked whale, is described on the basis of ten specimens which have either stranded or been captured between 11°12′S and 15°19′S latitude along the coasts of the provinces of Lima and Ica, south central Peru. This is the thirteenth living species of Mesoplodon recognized in the world's oceans. The...

The small cetacean catch by artisanal fishermen in Peru was the subject of a IUCN/UNEP project in 1985–1986. In a follow-up study during 1987 we monitored the port of Pucusana, on the central Peruvian coast, for 298 days. In order to estimate monthly and total annual catches, mean daily catch rates were calculated for each species, stratified by mo...

Seal and large whale populations have been severely depleted but are now legally protected. Marine mammals are top predators in the marine ecosystem and feed primarily on small pelagic fish or squid. Most Peruvian small cetaceans and pinnipeds feed primarily on anchoveta Engraulis ringens which was depleted by a combination of overfishing and a str...

Several species of small cetaceans are captured by fishermen in Peruvian coastal waters and used for human consumption. A large directed fishery exists for one species, the dusky dolphin Lagenorhynchus obscurus. In addition, two other species, the Burmeister's porpoise Phocoena spinipinnis and bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus, are commonly tak...

Review of the distribution of small cetaceans off Peru. The little information available on the occurrence of small cetaceans in Peruvian waters is reviewed. Data obtained between 1982 and 1987 by port monitoring, surveys of beaches and fish dumps, and sightings are included.